A South Korean parliamentarian attending at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) 112th conference in Manila Wednesday asked Japan to officially apologize for various crimes it committed during World War II, including recruiting 200,000 Asian women as "comfort women" for Japanese imperial troops.

At the open forum following the IPU panel discussion on violence against women and children in armed conflict situations on Wednesday, Hye Hoon Lee, member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, spoke for the other countries Japanese forces had brutally occupied during WWII.

She asked for an apology and compensation for the "pain, suffering, and humiliation" their people suffered.

Lee, deputy floor leader of the Grand National Party, said Japan must abide by international laws requiring legal and financial responsibility for war crimes committed during WWII.

"After listening to the heartbreaking stories of women and children raped and killed in many conflict situations around the world now, I want to remind you of the 200,000 sex slaves used by Japanese forces during WWII. These so-called comfort women from Korea, China, and the Philippines seek compensation and apology from the Japanese government," she said.

Lee said that in contrast to the post-war actions of Germany, Japan had not paid war damages to its victims.

"These are grave human rights violations, and they must not happen again. Just compensation and sincere apology will prevent them from happening again," she said.

Source: Xinhua